Educational Start-Up Nabs $1.5M Funding To Make Games That 'Don't Suck'

Educational games start-up Airy Labs has raised $1.5 million in funding to "make games that parents can feel good about handing to their kids...and that don't suck." The funding comes from Foundation Capital, Google Ventures, and Playdom co-founder Rick Thompson, according to The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital blog. "Our games are designed in the spirit of 'learning through play' and 'learning by doing,' with the fundamental philosophy that learning is fun and the best games are the ones where kids are having fun playing and learning at the same time," Airy says on its website. "They will have learning value across a broad landscape, including academic courses and skills, brain and psychological training, and broader life skills that aren’t taught in school." The initial games will teach English, math and memory building to kids age 5-13. Airy's funding came after founder Andrew Hsu attracted the interest of PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel's "20 Under 20" grant program for young entrepreneurs, which provided the company $100,000.